Swaziland

Where is Swaziland?

Located in Southern Africa, Swaziland has a 546.00 km border with Mozambique (108 km) and South Africa (438 km). In the past, the Swazi king has advocating the claim of parts of Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal.

Swaziland is unique because it has 2 capital cities, while most countries have only one. These cities are Lobamba, which serves as the legislative capital, and Mbabane, which serves as the executive capital. Both of these cities are located within 10 miles of each other in the Hhohho district in the western region of the country. Mbabane sits along the banks of the Mbabane river. As the site of the royal residence, Lobamba has played an important role in administering the government of Swaziland for many year. When the country became a member of the Commonwealth Parliament Association in 1965, this city became home to the legislative branch of government. Mbabane, in contrast, was designated as the administrative center of the region under British colonial rule in 1902. It has remained the seat of executive power in this country. The population of Lobamba is only around 11,000. Mbabane, however, is much larger with 94,874 residents, making it the most populated city in the country.

Swaziland is an African country covering 17,364.00 km² of which 0.92% is water and 17,204.00 km² is land. This makes it the 42nd smallest country in the world and slightly smaller than New Jersey. Its geographic coordinates are 26 30 S, 31 30 E and Mbabane is the capital city.

The name Swaziland comes from the 19th century King MSWATI II.

Its ISO code is SZ.

Geography

Swaziland has a mean elevation of 305 m above sea level.

It has a temperate climate with cold, cloudy winters and partly cloudy summers in the south an a subarctic climate in the north. Its terrain consists mainly of mountains and hills, with some moderately sloping plains.

Population

Swaziland has a population of 1,451,428 making it the 153rd largest in the world.

English is the official language used for government business, while siSwati is also an official language. The major ethnic group is reported as African. The majority of the population identifies as Christian.

Swaziland has two official language: English and Swazi (also known as Swati by local speakers). English, which belongs to the Indo-European language family, is primarily used for government communication and educational instruction. Swazi, the indigenous language of the Swazi people, belongs to the Niger-Congo language family and Bantu subgroup. Both languages are used by Parliament to carry out legislative duties. Large media outlets (such as television, radio, and print) tend to rely on the Swazi language to communicate to the public. Most individuals who speak and understand English (around 57,500 individuals) can be found in the capital of Swaziland. Swazi is spoken as a first language by around 980,000 people in this country. The second most widely spoken language here is Zule (around 76,000 speakers). Native minority languages that can also be heard in Swaziland include: Afrikaans and Tsonga. Immigrant minority languages are: Sotho, Maore, and Nyanja (all of which belong to the Bantu language family subgroup).

The dialing code for the country is 268.

Government

Swaziland is an independent country. It gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1968. Its constitution was last ratified in 2006.

The government of Swaziland is carried out as an absolute monarchy with legislative duties held by a bicameral parliamentary body. The royal monarch is established by a line of descendancy and as the absolute monarch, the King acts as the Head of State. Legislative duties are held by the bicameral Parliament, which is made up of the Senate (30 seats) and the House of Assembly (66 seats). This body is led by the Prime Minister, who is appointed by the King. The electoral process in Swaziland is shared among the citizens, the House of Assembly members, and the King. The citizens elect 55 of the 66 members of the House of Assembly as well as the Speaker of the House. The remaining 10 members are appointed by the King: half of these seats are reserved for women. The House of Assembly members then select 10 senators, half of whom must be women. The remaining senators are selected by the King, 8 of whom must be women. Parliamentary representatives serve a 5-year term.

Economy

Factoring in Purchasing Power Parity, Swaziland's GDP is $10,940,000,000.00 (USD) with $9,800.00 (USD) per capita. This makes it the 154th largest economy and its citizens the 135th richest in the world. The currency of Swaziland is the Lilangeni (SZL).

Its major imports include motor vehicles, machinery, and transport equipment.

Flag

The current flag of Swaziland became the national flag on October 6, 1968, after this country gained its independence from colonial rule. It consists of 5 horizontal stripes of 3 different colors. In order, these colors are: dark blue, golden yellow, crimson red, golden yellow, and dark blue. The two golden yellow stripes that separate the blue and red bands are more narrow than the other three bands. At the center of the flag sits a black and white war shield, which is situated in front of 2 spears and a stick with blue feathers on either end. Each of the colors on the flag of Swaziland has a specific meaning. The center symbol represents the traditional shield used by Swazi warriors. This design is based on a 1941 flag that King Sobhuza II gave to the Swazi Pioneer Corp prior to its invasion of Italy.